Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, claimed on Monday that Israel counted on the support of ten nations to block an unprecedented missile attack from Tehran that resulted in no significant damage to the country.
The claim, made by IRGC Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, that ten countries were willing to stand in defense of Israel undermines the often-repeated claims from the Iranian government and its terrorist proxies that Israel is an illegitimate state with few allies on the world stage and none among its neighbors in the Middle East. It also follows weeks of speculation that some parties in the region, notably Jordan and Saudi Arabia, were silent partners in aiding Israel in blocking the swarm of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and drones that Iran deployed at Israel.
“During Iran’s punitive operation — dubbed Operation True Promise — ten countries offered defensive aid to the Zionist regime (Israel),” the Iranian state propaganda outlet PressTV quoted Sharif as saying on Monday. PressTV claimed that he argued that “no country wanted Iran to gain success in its military operation against Israel, but the whole Iranian nation overwhelmingly supported the national move.”
Iranian forces reportedly fired more than 350 projectiles — missiles and drones — at Israel on April 13, the first time that the Iranian military directly attacked the Israeli homeland rather than using regional terrorist groups to threaten the country. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), “99 percent” of all objects fired at Israel were intercepted, including all drones and cruise missiles.
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Iran has claimed the failed onslaught was a success, anyway. Sharif reportedly accused ten countries of supporting Israel to make the false case that all 11 countries together were unable to stop the missiles.
“Operation True Promise was not a military exercise but the scene of a real operation,” Sharif said, using the official Iranian term for the inept bombing.
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari confirmed in a statement after the thwarted Iranian attack that Israel had received help from several nations, naming America, Britain, and France.
“This partnership has always been robust, but, last night, it was exceptionally evident. Last night, we conducted a complex defensive air battle, with excellent performance by the IAF [Israeli Air Force] and the Intelligence Directorate,” Hagari said.
While those partnerships are well-known, several reports indicated that multiple Muslim countries within the Middle East also intercepted Iranian missiles. On the top of that list is the kingdom of Jordan, which has experienced riots in favor of Hamas since the atrocities it committed against Israel on October 7 but is ruled by a relatively Western-friendly royal family under the auspices of King Abdullah II. Jordan has not confirmed reports that it helped block the attack.
Jordanian security forces fire tear gas against demonstrators attempting to storm the Israeli embassy in the capital Amman on October 17, 2023. (MUSSA HATTAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Citing anonymous sources, the news outlet the Intercept reported in mid-April that Jordan was joined by neighbors Iraq and Saudi Arabia in helping block the Iranian attack.
“Though Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia directly participated in the defense of Israel, intercepting Iranian missiles and drones and supporting the operation, none of the Arab countries involved are willing to publicly admit their participation,” the outlet claimed. “Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain were also tied into the American-led air and missile defense network, but these countries also have stayed quiet.”
Along with America, Britain, and France, that list would consist of ten countries.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have begun normalizing relations with Israel in a deal known as the “Abraham Accords,” signed at the White House under former President Donald Trump. The other Muslim countries do not have friendly ties to Israel, however, and Qatar in particular is home to the Hamas “political office,” allowing the terror group’s elite to live in luxury hotels in Doha. Qatari officials insisted in April that they would host Hamas so long as it was “useful and positive” to do so.
PressTV did not specify what information Sharif was using to accuse ten unnamed countries of supporting Israel.
Iran fired at Israel in retaliation against an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1, killing several senior IRGC officers, including, most prominently, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Zahedi, some reports claimed after his death, was involved in the planning and execution of the October 7 invasion and siege of Israel by Hamas, the Iranian terror proxy in control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people, abducted an estimated 250, and engaged in widespread atrocities on that day, including gang rape and infanticide. A Hamas terrorist told the BBC on the record on October 7 that his organization had “direct backing” from Iran to execute the attack.
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Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart NewsA series of strikes occurred within Iran shortly after “Operation True Promise,” widely believed to have been conducted by Israel, although Jerusalem has not confirmed its involvement directly. The strikes targeted multiple Iranian cities, notably the outskirts of Isfahan, where experts believe Iran to be hiding a nuclear facility.
The Iranian government initially denied that any such attack occurred, then called the attacks “desperate” and failed.
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